2011 NFL offseason thead.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I guess I would expect forensic accountants before any investment company when it comes to that as the players arent looking to invest in NFL teams as far as I know. I guess maybe the bank has said investigators, it just doesnt specify.

I'm sure an investment bank would have forensic accountants, and if you are trying to extrapolate profitability then experts at a good investment bank may be exactly who you need. It is one thing to determine if you have good data. Something else to interpret the that data. When they are arguing over hundred of millions of dollars (apparently there is optimism because the gap is down to $700 million per year ) it is worth it to bring in someone used to evaluating numbers that large.

[Bobblehead]

The NFLPA has now decertified.

The nuclear option has occurred.

[transplant99]

Yup...there can be no more negotiations because there is now no one to negotiate with.

Everything now will be decided by judges after lawsuits, coutersuits, injunctions and the reat of the crap.

Players refused to extend the deadline unless the NFL gave them every single financial from the last 10 years apparently and the owners told them to get stuffed.

This will only get uglier and uglier.

And it will be fascinating to watch play out.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Yup...there can be no more negotiations because there is now no one to negotiate with.

Everything now will be decided by judges after lawsuits, coutersuits, injunctions and the reat of the crap.

Players refused to extend the deadline unless the NFL gave them every single financial from the last 10 years apparently and the owners told them to get stuffed.

This will only get uglier and uglier.

And it will be fascinating to watch play out.

I think the players have played this perfectly. They have most of the public's support and now it looks like it will be hard for the NFL to gain much leverage the rest of the way.

[Bobblehead]

Here is an outline of what can happen from this point:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...f=twitter_feed

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I think the players have played this perfectly. They have most of the public's support and now it looks like it will be hard for the NFL to gain much leverage the rest of the way.

Disagree completely.

The PA had all the leverage until they de-certified. Now the next pressure point comes when players start missing paychecks.

that being said its also a pressure point for owners as they wont be selling tickets nor collecting TV revenue unless their appeal works. We saw with the NHL who was able to out wait who in that situation though.

this thing just went from possibly getting done to nothing getting done for months...at the earliest.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

The NFLPA has now decertified.

The nuclear option has occurred.

What a joke; just ten minutes before they are a union and we are suppose to believe that they aren't one now? yeah right, I hope they get nothing in the whole deal.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Yup...there can be no more negotiations because there is now no one to negotiate with.

Everything now will be decided by judges after lawsuits, coutersuits, injunctions and the reat of the crap.

Players refused to extend the deadline unless the NFL gave them every single financial from the last 10 years apparently and the owners told them to get stuffed.

This will only get uglier and uglier.

And it will be fascinating to watch play out.

didn't the owners agree to split that 8 billion dollars only to have the players say get effed? The players had no intention on negotiating at all and tried their union tactics. I for one hope this blows up all over their face.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Disagree completely.

The PA had all the leverage until they de-certified. Now the next pressure point comes when players start missing paychecks.

that being said its also a pressure point for owners as they wont be selling tickets nor collecting TV revenue unless their appeal works. We saw with the NHL who was able to out wait who in that situation though.

this thing just went from possibly getting done to nothing getting done for months...at the earliest.

By decertifying the players are indicating that they are willing to play.

The owners will try to stop the decertification.

That is because if the players are not in a union and the owners try to lock them out, then the players raise an anti-trust argument they they are independent contractors and the owners are acting as a collective.

At any of these steps a settlement can occur, all that happens is the balance of power shifts back and forth.

The players may still play just like under the current CBA.

All this stuff has happened before. Millionaires arguing with billionaires.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

By decertifying the players are indicating that they are willing to play.

The owners will try to stop the desertification.

That is because if the players are not in a union and the owners try to lock them out, then the players raise an anti-trust argument they they are independent contractors and the owners are acting as a collective.

At any of these steps a settlement can occur, all that happens is the balance of power shifts back and forth.

The players may still play just like under the current CBA.

All this stuff has happened before. Millionaires arguing with billionaires.

The desertification is a joke and a complete sham. The majority of the regular people should understand that they didn't stop becoming a Union at all. They're saying this just because they couldn't get what the union wants so now it's back to it's dirty tactics. The union is alive and the only way I would even think about working with these fools if they had in the new contract that the union will no longer be no matter what. Because as soon as they get what they want the NFLPA will be back in business like they were two seconds before that.

[shermanator]

If there is indeed a lockout, I'm wondering if some of the fringe players decide to play in the CFL this year...

[Dion]

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

By decertifying the players are indicating that they are willing to play.

.

Well yeah...but that was all they had left if they believed the owners would lock them out, which will happen tomorrow.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I think the players have played this perfectly. They have most of the public's support and now it looks like it will be hard for the NFL to gain much leverage the rest of the way.

I disagree. First of all the public's support means almost nothing. Everyone knows that no matter what they will be back watching football whenever that happens, and will forget what side they were on during the lockout. The NFL has all the leverage, those players play on avg between 3 to 4 years. A criticalmass of players will think all summer about losing a third of their lifetime potential and say screw this, I don't need to hold out so Manning can get 15M per instead of 12M per. Hockey players did it and they play for way longer than football players do.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by PIMking

The desertification is a joke and a complete sham. The majority of the regular people should understand that they didn't stop becoming a Union at all. They're saying this just because they couldn't get what the union wants so now it's back to it's dirty tactics. The union is alive and the only way I would even think about working with these fools if they had in the new contract that the union will no longer be no matter what. Because as soon as they get what they want the NFLPA will be back in business like they were two seconds before that.

I agree with you, and apparently the NFL does as well, they put out the following press release:

The fastest way to a fair agreement is for both the union and the clubs to continue the mediation process. Unfortunately, the players' union has notified our office that at 4pm ET it had "decertified" and is walking away from mediation and collective bargaining, presumably to initiate the antitrust litigation it has been threatening to file. In an effort to get a fair agreement now, the clubs offered a deal that would have had no adverse financial impact upon veteran players in the early years and would meet the players' financial demands in the latter years. The union left a very good deal on the table. It included an offer to narrow the player compensation gap that existed in the negotiations by splitting the difference; guarantee reallocation of savings from first-round rookies to veterans and retirees without negatively affecting compensation for rounds 2-7; ensure no compensation reduction for veterans; implement new year-round health and safety rules; retain the current 16-4 season format for at least two years with any subsequent changes subject to the approval of the league and union; and establish a new legacy fund for retired players (US$82 million contributed by the owners over the next two years).
The union was offered financial disclosure of audited league and club profitability information that is not even shared with the NFL clubs.
The expanded health and safety rules would include a reduction in off-season programs of five weeks (from 14 to nine) and of OTAs (Organized Team Activities) from 14 to 10; significant reductions in the amount of contact in practices; and other changes.
At a time when thousands of employees are fighting for their collective bargaining rights, this union has chosen to abandon collective bargaining in favour of a sham 'decertification' and antitrust litigation. This litigation manoeuvre is built on the indisputably false premise that the NFLPA has stopped being a union and will merely delay the process of reaching an agreement.
The NFL clubs remain committed to collective bargaining and the federal mediation process until an agreement is reached. The NFL calls on the union to return to negotiations immediately. NFL players, clubs, and fans want an agreement. The only place it can be reached is at the bargaining table

[transplant99]

The league has now locked out the players.

Game off.

The union decertified, and 10 players, including MVP quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, sued the owners in federal court in Minneapolis. Then, at midnight, the owners locked out the players -- creating the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987 and putting the 2011 season in jeopardy.


"We are locked out," union president and former player Kevin Mawae wrote in a text message to The Associated Press. "We were informed today that players are no longer welcome at team facilities."

In the end, it appeared the sides were about $185 million apart on how much owners should get up front each season for certain operating expenses before splitting the rest of the revenues with players -- a far cry from the $1 billion that separated the sides for months.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6205936

[PIMking]

"We are locked out," union president and former player Kevin Mawae wrote in a text message to The Associated Press. "We were informed today that players are no longer welcome at team facilities."

What? I thought the union was no longer in business...

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by PIMking

What? I thought the union was no longer in business...

Exactly.

Your honor please accept exhibit A, this is a union leader confirming the continued existence of a union.

I can understand how people thought the 4 billion dollar war chest was disingenious but how can any even think that this decertification is legit in any way?

[Resolute 14]

Indeed. This is a war the players probably deserve to win overall, but they also deserve to get slapped hard for pretending they are no longer in a union.

[PIMking]

Isn't it the same judge that allowed the union to do the same crap in 87 got the case now too?